Reaching to God: This Easter, remember your miracles

It happened 30 years ago. The plane crash killed 154 people, scattering bodies, cushions, and wreckage for a half-mile. One infant survived. More recently, a man endured a fall of more than 2 miles when his parachute failed to open.

They are bona fide miracles.

I’ve had them in my life, I bet you’ve had them, too. The hand of God moving before our eyes. Scripture says, “Think of all the wonderful things He has done for you.” 1Samuel 12:24 NLT

Here’s why. We need miracles long after they’re over. They strengthen our faith.

It’s spring and Easter is here, but turn back 2,000 years. It’s winter and Jesus walks outside along a majestic passageway of the Jerusalem temple. Called Solomon’s colonnade, it’s lined with marble pillars, some reaching 10 stories high.

A crowd of Jewish people gather around Jesus. “How long will you keep us in suspense?” they ask. “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” John 10:24

Jesus could have nodded and moved on. He’d already told the woman at the well. Instead, Jesus indicates He’s God, which sends the Jews into a wild fury. There’s one God in heaven. They can’t grasp the trinity, and Jesus has just defiled who they hold most sacred. They’re determined to crush his skull, but Jesus somehow escapes.

He takes his disciples and travels east, crossing the Jordan River to the safety of the wilderness. This is where John baptized Jesus three years earlier, calling Him the Lamb of God.

Crowds still come to Jesus in the wilderness, and His ministry continues. But as spring nears, Jesus’ friend Lazarus dies in Bethany near Jerusalem. Jesus decides to go there, even though His disciples think it’s too dangerous. Thomas says, “Let us go, that we may die with Him.”

That’s not what happens. Not at all. Jesus amazes everyone. He calls to Lazarus, and the dead man walks forth from the tomb. It’s a miracle. Jesus is surrounded by Jews from Jerusalem who’d come to mourn with the family. News spreads fast, and Jesus is suddenly back on top!

When He enters Jerusalem, crowds now swell around Him, hailing Jesus as their king. The disciples’ dreams are realized — their Messiah will rule forever. The low time in that wilderness exile is replaced by this high of Christ’s coronation.

R.A. Mathews(Photo: Special to the News Journal)

Five days later, Jesus is dead.

The disciples gather behind locked doors and grieve. Jesus wasn’t the Christ after all, but they still loved Him.

On Sunday, Jesus walks from the tomb through a garden blooming with flowers, the earth coming to life. Mary Magdalene meets Him there, then runs ahead to tell the disciples. They celebrate, right? They’re thrilled!

No. Scripture says,“(Mary’s) words seemed to them an idle tale and they did not believe them.” The disciples are down, deep down in their despair. It’s spring, but winter lays heavy on their hearts.

I suspect winter comes for us all. Grief can intensely challenge our faith, whether it’s the loss of a job or a relationship, a health crisis, or the death of a loved one.

It’s worse with the disciples. Jesus is their Lord, their Messiah, even the Son of God, but He’s not their God. What happened in that near-deadly winter crisis in Solomon’s colonnade is lost on them. It’s only after the resurrection that Thomas so beautifully says to Jesus, “My Lord and my God.”

And they forget the countless miracles — blind Bartimaeus, Jairus’ lifeless daughter, the 10 lepers, crazed Legion running naked between the tombstones. Healing Lazarus was important to Jesus. He said to his disciples, “… so that you may believe.” Believe what? That Jesus is victorious over death. A tomb can’t hold God.

Pray and stay close to Jesus. Read Scripture and remember His deeds over thousands of years. But also write down your miracles and turn to them again and again. Those highs will get you through many lows.

This Easter, recall one little girl in a charred plane, a man falling 2 miles, the miracles of Scripture, and God’s crucifixion and resurrection. Remember what God has done for you.